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1990 Mexican Grand Prix
24 June |number = 490 |officialname = XIV Gran Premio de México |circuit = Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez |location = Mexico City, Mexico |circuittype = Permanent racing facility |lapdistance = 4.421 |laps = 69 |distance = 305.049 |pole = Gerhard Berger |polenation = AUT |poleteam = |poletime = 1:17.227 |fastestlap = 1:17.958 |fastestlapdriver = Alain Prost |fastestlapnation = FRA |fastestlapteam = |fastestlapnumber = 58 |winner = Alain Prost |winnernation = FRA |winnerteam = |second = Nigel Mansell |secondnation = GBR |secondteam = |third = Gerhard Berger |thirdnation = AUT |thirdteam = }} The 1990 Mexican Grand Prix, otherwise known as the XIV Gran Premio de México, was the sixth round of the FIA Formula One World Championship staged at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico, on the 24 June 1990.'Mexican GP, 1989', grandprix.com, (Inside F1 Inc., 2015), http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr490.html, (Accessed 28/06/2019) The race would be remembered for a dramatic puncture for Championship leader Ayrton Senna in the closing stages, which ultimately handed victory to Alain Prost. Qualifying saw Gerhard Berger claim a sixth straight pole position for , while Riccardo Patrese grabbed second for . That left Championship leader Senna in third ahead of Nigel Mansell, while Prost was a lowly thirteenth having focused on race pace. Raceday would not get underway in particularly clean fashion, with the morning warm-up session interrupted by a stray dog. Fortunately there would be no "groundhog" style incidents as there had been in Canada, meaning there were no late changes to the field due to dog related collisions. The start of the race would see Patrese streak into a surprise lead, with a poor start from Berger leaving him in third behind Senna. They were chased by Mansell and Thierry Boutsen, while Nelson Piquet made a strong start to challenge those two during the opening lap. Senna eased into the lead at the end of the first lap, with Berger following him past Patrese's Williams with an identical move a lap later. The two McLaren-Hondas duly eased ahead of the Italian's Williams, which was to slip behind a charging Piquet, with Berger working hard to remain on his teammate's tail. Unfortunately for Berger his pushing would prove fatal to his front left tyre, with a slow puncture forcing him to abandon second on lap 13. He subsequently rejoined in twelfth as Piquet inherited second, although neither the Brazilian, nor the Austrian, were the men to watch. Indeed, the two s were getting stronger as the race wore on, with Nigel Mansell and Prost beginning to ominously draw onto the back of the two Williams-Renaults in third and fourth. The two scarlet cars duly swept past the two yellow-blue-white cars within the space of nine laps, before sweeping past Piquet's multi-coloured a few laps later. The second half of the race would see the Ferraris slowly close onto the back of Senna, who would also pickup a slow puncture in the closing stages. In the midst of their mutual chase Prost would scythe past teammate Mansell to secure second, just in time to inherit the lead when Senna's tyre spectacularly failed, with the McLaren picking up too much additional damage to continue. Prost was therefore left to claim his second win of the season, while a late spin for Mansell almost let a charging Berger secure second, only for the Brit to throw a very ambitious lunge at the Austrian through the Peraltada. Berger was hence forced to drop back to third rather than have a huge accident with the Ferrari, as Alessandro Nannini, Boutsen and Piquet the other scorers. Background Ayrton Senna had once again extended his Championship lead with victory in Canada, moving a full twelve points clear of teammate Gerhard Berger in second. The Austrian himself had a fairly healthy gap back to Alain Prost in third, five points separating them, while Jean Alesi was hanging on in fourth, a point behind Prost. Nelson Piquet, meanwhile, would move up to fifth after his podium finish, while Derek Warwick had become the fourteenth scorer of the season. In the Constructors Championship it was still an all affair, with the Anglo-Japanese squad reaching a half-century with three wins from five races. had moved up to be their closest competitors, although the Scuderia were already 29 points behind with a third of the season gone. , meanwhile, had lost ground having slipped to third, while were finally on the board after a miserable start to the season for the former Champion constructors. Entry List The full entry list for the is outlined below: Practice Overview Qualifying Pre-Qualifying Pre-Qualifying Results The full pre-qualifying results for the are outlined below: Friday Qualifying Saturday Qualifying Qualifying Results The full qualifying results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car to set their best time in that session. *'Bold' indicates a driver's best/qualifying time. ** Moreno was excluded from the results of qualifying after receiving outside assistance. Grid Race Report Results The full results for the are outlined below: *T Indicates a driver used their test/spare car. ** Senna was still classified despite retiring as he had completed 90% of the race distance. Milestones * Ayrton Senna started his 100th Grand Prix.'6. Mexico 1990', statsf1.com, (Stats F1, 2014), https://www.statsf1.com/en/1990/mexique.aspx, (Accessed 28/06/2019) * 25th entry for Roberto Moreno.'1989 Mexican GP', chicanef1.com, (Chicane F1, 2015), http://www.chicanef1.com/racetit.pl?year=1989&gp=Mexican%20GP&r=1, (Accessed 28/06/2019) * Bertrand Gachot entered his 20th Grand Prix. * JJ Lehto entered his tenth race. * Alain Prost claimed his 41st victory. * recorded their 99th win as both a constructor and engine manufacturer. ** This was also the 50th win for Agip as an oil supplier. Standings Ayrton Senna had retained the lead in the Championship in-spite of his late retirement, although his advantage had been cut to eight points leaving Mexico. His arch-rival Alain Prost was once again his closest challenger, level on points with Gerhard Berger but ahead by virtue of having two wins, while Jean Alesi, Nigel Mansell andNelson Piquet completed the top six. Otherwise the order was fairly unchanged, with fourteen drivers on the scoreboard. had seen their huge early lead in the Constructors Championship slightly dented in Mexico, with able to make a fair amount of ground after claiming a one-two. The Scuderia would leave Mexico eighteen points off of the Anglo-Japanese squad, with a sixteen point gap back to third placed . Williams-Renault themselves would end the weekend level on points with , remaining ahead of their British rivals by virtue of having one race win. Only point scoring drivers and constructors are shown. References Images and Videos: * References: Category:Grand Prix articles Category:1990 Grands Prix Category:Mexican Grand Prix